Compact clothing hanging device

ABSTRACT

A compact clothing hanging device has a base and plurality of parallel bars extending outwardly in a horizontal plane with spaces between the bars adapted to hold clothing such as pants, skirts or similar articles. The device has spring-bias means attached near one extremity of the rods and pins which pass through the rods into the base near the spring-biased extremity. The base has support means under the bars. Mounted on the base and on the rod ends are cooperating indexing means or indicia which indicate the number or location of each individual bar. Spaced above the array of bars is a slide on which is mounted a wedge shaped opener which moves along the slide to selected locations between the adjacent bars, as indicated by the sets of indexing means. The opener may be pivoted downwardly to engage and open adjacent bars. Cushioning means or pads are provided on the adjacent bars to prevent clothing from slipping through the bars and to compensate for variations in thickness of the clothing stored in the device.

United States Patent [191 Cook [4 Oct. 7, 1975 COMPACT CLOTHING HANGING DEVICE Niel V. Cook, 227 St. Marys Drive, Ballwin, Mo. 63011 22 Filed: Aug. 2, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 494,046

[76] Inventor:

Primary Examiner-Ramon S. Britts Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Rogers, Ezell & Eilers [57] ABSTRACT A compact clothing hanging device has a base and plurality of parallel bars extending outwardly in a horizontal plane with spaces between the bars adapted to hold clothing such as pants, skirts or similar articles. The device has spring-bias means attached near one extremity of the rods and pins which pass through the rods into the base near the spring-biased extremity. The base has support means under the bars. Mounted on the base and on the rod ends are cooperating indexing means or indicia which indicate the number or location of each individual bar. Spaced above the array of bars is a slide on which is mounted a wedge shaped opener which moves along the slide to selected locations between the adjacent bars, as indicated by the sets of indexing means. The opener may be pivoted downwardly to engage and open adjacent bars. Cushioning means or pads are provided on the adjacent bars to prevent clothing from slipping through the bars and to compensate for variations in thickness of the clothing stored in the device.

10 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures COMPACT CLOTHING HANGING DEVICE BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Garments such as trousers, skirts and similar articles of clothing take up considerable storage space in a closet, particularly when hung on ordinary clothes hangers. This can be inconvenient in houses or apartments where closet space is fairly limited and where closets often become unduly crowded principally as the result of the inefficiency in storing and hanging these and similar articles of clothing. To overcome this inefficiency, devices have been made for compactly hanging trousers and skirts and similar articles.

Prior devices utilized a series of parallel bars with spaces between the bars to receive articles of clothing. The bars were supported in a framework at one end and were biased in a close parallel relationship. The articles of clothing were hung in the framework by forcing the article between adjacent parallel bars. These prior devices were deficient in many regards, particu larly since they spaced the bars so closely adjacent that it was difficult to place garments into the hanging device or to remove them, particularly when the device is full or nearly full or when thick articles of clothing are being stored or removed. The devices often wrinkled and crushed the clothing stored therein. The biasing structures of previous devices also were cumbersome and occupied a great deal of additional space.

In addition, prior devices had no easy means for eating, introducing, and removing articles. Removing an article of clothing required fumbling with the opening between adjacent bars, locating the article and the particular space in which it was held before the article could be removed. To introduce an article in the device it was necessary to locate a vacant space between adjacent bars, manually separate the adjacent parallel bars, and force the article of clothing into the opening.

Applicants device is a compact garment hanger which may be mounted on walls or other vertical surfaces and suspended in closets to provide a compact storage space for trousers, skirts and similar articles of clothing. Applicants device incorporates a spring structure which is compact and does not interfere with the operation of the device in holding and storing clothing. The device has parallel bars in a close adjacent relationship pivoted at one end about vertical pins which provide a smooth, easily operating structure. In addition, the device has a resilient size compensating structure between adjacent bars. The size compensating structure may be pads of felt, leather, expanded plastic foams or spring mounted bars, which compensate for the different thicknesses of the articles of clothing which are stored therein. The pads also have a firm grip on the clothing, but do not mark or wrinkle the fabric.

The device has indexing means provided on the structure by which it is possible to locate the spaces between adjacent bars and easily remove or introduce articles of clothing into the structure. In addition, means is provided by which the adjacent parallel bars may be readily opened and articles of clothing introduced or removed without applying excessive force to the clothing. The means is preferably in the form of a wedgeshaped carnming device which can be introduced into the space between adjacent parallel bars to apply force outwardly on the bars and separate them. The carnming device has a handle which operates as a lever to force the cam between adjacent parallel bars.

The cam device, when used in cooperation with the indexing means, readily locates and opens the desired space between adjacent parallel bars so that an article of clothing maybe introduced into or removed from the specific space desiredThis cam mechanism, by eliminating the force previously required in other devices to introduce or remove an article of clothing, eliminates the stress and consequent wear and tear on the article of clothing which results from repeated introduction and removal of the article of clothing using force on the clothing to separate the parallel bars. The carnming device also makes it possible to use springs in the device having higher compressive strength so that the article of clothing is held firmly in the hanging device. Articles of varying thickness, weight and texture are firmly held and will not inadvertently slip out of the hanger.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an embodiment incorporating the structure of the invention; the embodiment is not mounted;

FIG. 2 is a partial bottom plan view of the structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the structure of FIG. 1 in partial section;

FIG. 4 is a partial end view of the structure in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the structure of FIG. 1 along the plane of line 5-5;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the device in FIG. 1 mounted on a wall and suspended from a closet rod;

FIG. 7 is a vertical section view of the structure of FIG. 6 taken along the plane of line 77;

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the structure shown in FIG. 6 taken along the plane of line 8-8, but

with the cam and lever shifted to the far left; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the plane of line 99 in FIG. 8 with a garment shown in broken lines.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring in more detail to the drawings, a garment hanging device 10 embodying the features of the invention is shown in FIG. 1. The device has a U-shaped frame 11 having parallel side members 12 and perpendicular back member 14 shown also in FIGS. 2 and 4. Mounted inside of the U-shaped frame 11 are barmounting members 16 and 18 attached to back member 14 and spaced vertically from each other. Barsupporting member 20 is mounted between parallel side members 12 and spaced outwardly from barsupporting member 18.

Mounted within the U-shaped frame are a plurality of bars 24 which are normally parallel to outwardly extending members 12. By bars I mean any elongated structure of a generally symmetrical cross section, including rods, tubes or beams. The bars may be formed of any convenient material, e.g., wood, plastic or metal. The array of parallel bars has two bars 26 which define the extremities of the array. The array of bars 24 and 26 are positioned with their innermost ends between mounting members I 16 and 18 and are pivotably mounted in a parallel array by pins 28 which pass through mounting members 16 and 18 and through the innermost ends of the bars 24, 26 in the array. Each bar 24, 26 of the array is pivotable about the pins 28 in the plane defined by the array.

A spring 30 is positioned beneath the array and extends in a direction perpendicular to the normal extension of each bar 24, 26 in the array. Hooks 32 connect to bars 26 and to the ends of the spring 30. The spring, due to tension in it, normally biases the bars 24, 26 in a close parallel relationship and resists pivoting of the bars about pins 28. Spring 30 may be a single spring acting only through hooks 32 or it may be formed as a double spring fixed at its center, for example, to support members 18 or (not shown). A double spring has some advantages in that it will tend to center the array more readily. The spring is positioned between supports 18 and 20 underneath the array.

The bars 24 and 26 have cooperating resilient pads 34 attached to the sides of the bars 24 and placed in the gap between adjacent bars 24, 26 as shown. Resilient pads 34 may be formed of any compressible substance or device such as felt or foam pads, foam plastic pads, small bars supported on resilient springs or similar devices. Applicant has found that expanded polyurethane foam in pads about 2 X A; X /8 inches is quite satisfactory, though other materials work also. The array of outwardly extending bars 24, 26 with their resilient V pads 34 cooperate to hold a garment (shown in FIG. 9 as a pair of trousers 35) due to the contact force between the garment and' the pads 34 generated by tension spring 30. The cooperating pads provide a soft surface to hold garments so that they are not crushed, torn or marred while held in the device and also provide enough compression to provide tolerance for a variety of thicknesses of garments which may be inserted into the gap between adjacent parallel bars allowing garments of varying thickness to be stored in the device.

At a location above tension spring 30 and near support member 16, a slide rod 36 extends ina direction perpendicular to the normal location of the bars 24, 26 and extends through side supports 12. Threaded nuts 38 acting on threaded ends 40 of rod 36 retain the rod in. its position above the array of bars 24, 26. Mounted A on slide rod 36 is bar opening member 42., Bar opening member 42 consists of a tubular slide 44 mounted concentrically on slide rod 36 and movable along slide rod 36 to any position between parallel side supports 12,. Centrally mounted on tubular slide 44 and integral therewith is outwardly-extending handle 46. Mounted on handle 46 at an intermediate location between the outward extremity of handle 46 and tubular slide .44 is a wedge-shaped cam 48 fixed to the handle 46 and positioned with the small end of the wedge extending downwardly. Tubular slide 44 is freely rotatable around slide rod 36 so that handle 46 and attached cam 48 may be rotated upwardly out of contact with the underlying garment holding bars 24, 26.

Spaced above back support 14 is indexing panelSO secured to back support 14 by mounting brackets 52 via screws 54. Mounting bracket 52 may also be used to secure the garment hanging device 10 to a wall via screws 56 as shown in FIG. 7. Side. members 12 may have a series of holes 58 in the outward extremities to support the outward edge of the garment hanging device 10 from a clothes rod or similar device, for example, when the garment hanging device 10 is mounted in a clothes closet by first attaching mounting bracket 52 to the back wall of the closet, then hanging a hook 62 over a clothes rod 60 (shown in FIG. 7), passing the lower extremity of the hook 62 through any of holes 58 andsecuring the hook 62 to the side support 12 by nut 64 extending over threaded end 66 of hook 62. Side 7 supports 12 may have additional hooks or hangers for small garments or accessories, such as belts, ties, etc., shown by 68 and 70 in FIGS. 1 and 6.

To facilitate finding the gaps between the adjacent bars 24, 26 to introduce or remove clothing into the gap, indicia 74 are provided on the ends of the bars 24, 26 and corresponding indicia 76 are provided above the bars 24, 26 on the indexing panel 50.

Inoperation, the opening lever 42 is moved across the array of bars 24,26 by sliding tube 44 along rod 36.

The gaps between the bars 24, 26 may be readily located by placing the handle 46 between the pre;

selected indicia on indexing panel 50. When the handle 46 is lowered the wedge-shaped cam 48 then passes into the gap between the bars bearing the same indicia I and on applying sufficient force through handle 46 the contact force between bars 24, 26 due to spring action 1 30, is overcome and the adjacent bars 24, 26 are separated. An article of clothing may be easily introduced 1.

or removed from the gap between the adjacent bars 24, 26. The indicia 74, 76 on the bars 24., 26 and index board 50 are shown in FIG. 6.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that other modifications may be resorted to without departing from the.

invention herein described. The invention is to be lim- 7 means to mount the garment holder in a garment receiving position, and cooperating means on the holder to selectively open selected pairs of, the parallel bars to permit ease of removal and introduction of an article of clothing.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein a resilient cushioning means is provided on the bars to cushion the portion of the bars contacting the articles of clothing held thereby.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the bars are pivoted about pins passing through the bars in a direction perpendicular to the plane in which the bars pivot.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the bars are biased by a spring adjacent to the pinned end,,the spring being attached to the outermost two bars in the array and passing underneath the array. 7

5. The device of claim, 1 wherein means is provided to suspend the device at least partially from a closet rod.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the opening means is slidingly mounted above the bars and is movable to selected positions above the bars.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein the opening means i has a tapered cam which is movable down between selected pairs of the parallel bars to separate the bars and permit ease of removal and introduction of an article of clothing.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the bars are biased by a first spring attached to one of the outermost two bars at a location adjacent to the pinned end and passing underneath the array to attach to an intermediate location, and a second spring attached to the other of a base by pins passing through one end of the bars in a I direction perpendicular to the plane, the bars being free for limited pivotal movement about the pins in the plane, means biasing the bars in a close parallel relationship, means supporting the bars on the base, means on the bars providing a cushioning and space compensating function between adjacent bars, indexing means on the bars, indexing means on the base cooperating with the indexing means on the bars to locate the spaces between adjacent bars, a slide fixedly mounted on the base at a location above the plane, opening means mounted on the slide and movable to selected positions above the spaces between adjacent bars, the opening means having a cam means pivotable downwardly about the slide to a position into the spaces between adjacent bars to selectively engage adjacent bars, the opening means having a lever whereby sufficient force may be applied through the cam means to pivot the bars about the pins to open the bars and permit ease of removal and introduction of an article of clothing, means on the base to permit mounting of the base to a vertical surface, and auxilliary support means on the base to at least partially suspend the base. 

1. A garment holder having an array of parallel bars pivoted about one end and free at the opposite end, the bars being supported at a location intermediate their ends, the spaces between adjacent bars being adapted to receive and hold an article of clothing, biasing means normally biasing the bars in a closed relationship and adapted to apply sufficient force to retain an article of clothing between adjacent parallel bars, mounting means to mount the garment holder in a garment receiving position, and cooperating means on the holder to selectively open selected pairs of the parallel bars to permit ease of removal and introduction of an article of clothing.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein a resilient cushioning means is provided on the bars to cushion the portion of the bars contacting the articles of clothing held thereby.
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein the bars are pivoted about pins passing through the bars in a direction perpendicular to the plane in which the bars pivot.
 4. The device of claim 1 wherein the bars are biased by a spring adjacent to the pinned end, the spring being attached to the outermost two bars in the array and passing underneath the array.
 5. The device of claim 1 wherein means is provided to suspend the device at least partially from a closet rod.
 6. The device of claim 1 wherein the opening means is slidingly mounted above the bars and is movable to selected positions above the bars.
 7. The device of claim 6 wherein the opening means has a tapered cam which is movable down between selected pairs of the parallel bars to separate the bars and permit ease of removal and introduction of an article of clothing.
 8. The device of claim 1 wherein the bars are biased by a first spring attached to one of the outermost two bars at a location adjacent to the pinned end and passing underneath the array to attach to an intermediate location, and a second spring attached to the other of the outermost two bars at a location adjacent to the pinned end and passing underneath the array to attach to the intermediate location.
 9. The device of claim 1 wherein the biasing means is a spring under tension extending between the outermost bars in the array.
 10. A garment holder having a base, a plurality of bars on the base and attached to the base to form an array defining a plane, the bars being attached to the base by pins passing through one end of the bars in a direction perpendicular to the plane, the bars being free for limited pivotal movement about the pins in the plane, means biasing the bars in a close parallel relationship, means supporting the bars on the base, means on the bars providing a cushioning and space compensating function between adjacent bars, indexing means on the bars, indexing means on the bAse cooperating with the indexing means on the bars to locate the spaces between adjacent bars, a slide fixedly mounted on the base at a location above the plane, opening means mounted on the slide and movable to selected positions above the spaces between adjacent bars, the opening means having a cam means pivotable downwardly about the slide to a position into the spaces between adjacent bars to selectively engage adjacent bars, the opening means having a lever whereby sufficient force may be applied through the cam means to pivot the bars about the pins to open the bars and permit ease of removal and introduction of an article of clothing, means on the base to permit mounting of the base to a vertical surface, and auxilliary support means on the base to at least partially suspend the base. 